


what the water gave me

by oddeyejinsol



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, loonathepirates, lots of descriptions of the ocean, mermaid jinsoul, mild / non graphic violence, pirate haseul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-14 07:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20596883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oddeyejinsol/pseuds/oddeyejinsol
Summary: Haseul thinks the strangest thing that's ever happened to her is getting adopted by a bunch of pirates — that is, until she meets a mermaid.





	1. so cold, so sweet

**Author's Note:**

> soo.. im really nervous about posting this fic bc i spent a looot of time n love crafting this little verse so. please treat her kindly!! enjoy <3

“ _ I dreamed a dream the other night … Lowlands, lowlands away …” _

Haseul’s own voice is the only thing she can hear in the still silence of the night. She’s always liked the ocean, but it’s different now, in the dark and at the bow of a ship. There’s nothing but water for miles and miles, a surface as dark and glossy as a mirror. If it weren’t for the moonlight’s reflection, stripes of gleaming silver, it would be pitch-black.

Still, she has many fond memories of sitting on the docks as a little girl while her mother went to the market. Then, at the peak of midday, the ocean would be a beautiful deep blue. In the hot summer days the lick of the water against her hands and feet was like heaven, and the chatter of the sailors in the background as their ships came and went was soothing to listen to. She’s always been the type of person who can’t stand silence, which is why she has to sing now. Otherwise, her mind begins to run with her, imagining shadows beneath the dark surface of the water. 

Although, she thinks with a wry smile, the humour isn’t lost on her that the only things she should be frightened of on the high seas are the people sleeping soundly below the deck. Unlike sea creatures, pirates are very real. 

Haseul is the newest addition to the crew, meaning that she gets the tasks nobody particularly wants to do — cleaning the toilet, gutting the fish they catch, and now that she’s earned their trust, navigating the ship at night while the rest of them catch up on sleep. It’s nice in the sense that it’s quiet, the usual hustle and bustle of the ship’s daily activity now settled into a peaceful rest. Still, the dead silence makes it so that every sound has her on edge, her brain conjuring up images of enemy pirates storming the board and slitting all of their throats. 

She supposes it isn’t a completely irrational fear, given that that’s almost exactly how she found her way onto this ship in the first place. After losing her mother to pneumonia one harsh winter, she had to find a way for herself since she had no other family that she knew of. She was lucky, she supposes; even though she had no experience with boats, musicians were always in high demand on deck. There was very little to do on the high seas (as she learned firsthand) and any entertainment was as valuable as gold. 

Haseul was only on that ship for about four months, but they had been some of the most hellish of her life. She was the only woman aboard the ship, and she constantly had to deal with both belittlement and harassment from the male sailors. Luckily for her, the captain had given them strict instructions not to interact with her apart from requesting songs — although this wasn’t for her benefit, just that they’d be awfully bored if their musician decided she’d rather jump ship than stay on the boat. Still, the longer they were at sea the worse their leering and advances got, and she shuddered to think of what her fate might have become if the attack hadn’t happened.

When the pirates stormed their ship, it was the middle of the night and Haseul was asleep, so she still isn’t sure exactly how it all started. All she knows that she suddenly woke to the sounds of battle cries and clanging swords, and when she meekly peered out of her sleeping quarters, she was greeted with an astonishing sight: a band of pirates laying out her crew like they were children playing with kitchen knives rather than grown men with swords. 

That wasn’t the shocking part, though — pirates were an unfortunate risk of a life at sea — but rather the fact that they were all women who looked to be around her age, or even younger. Frozen in place, she watched in amazement as a tiny girl with brassy hair sliced the captain from throat to groin as if she was gutting a fish, and then turned around to stick her sword through the neck of another sailor who was creeping up behind her. 

Before her half-asleep brain could react, Haseul was suddenly being shoved up against the wall with a dagger pressed to her throat. She froze, knowing well that any movement could cause the blade to bite into her flesh, and could do nothing but stare fearfully into the narrowed eyes of her captor — a tall woman who looked fairly young despite her stature. 

“What do we have here?” she murmured, eyes flickering with interest. “A woman? You keep the boys company on here? But no, you don’t look it …” She carded her fingers through Haseul’s short hair, and Haseul jerked her head away even though it made the dagger dig deeper. Her cheeks burned at the insult, but she couldn’t deny that’s exactly why she cut her hair in the first place — unable to deal with any more sickening stares from the crew, she used the little knife she’d stolen away to cut her beautiful long hair into a ragged crop. (It helped, but certainly not enough.)

“I’m just the musician,” Haseul said, struggling to speak through the lump of fear in her throat. “P-please let me go, I can show you where they keep all the gold and things—”

“Too late,” interrupted a smooth voice, and another tall woman with flowing raven hair appeared, clapping a hand onto Haseul’s aggressor’s shoulder. “Olivia, follow Choerry and help her load the jewels onto our ship. We found the motherload.”

Olivia nodded sharply, instantly tucking the sword into her belt and scampering off. Haseul could only assume this woman was their captain, judging by the way Olivia didn’t hesitate to follow her orders. Now that her mind isn’t clouded with adrenaline, Haseul could see that the fight had died down; the women were all gone, probably below the deck raiding the booty, and as far as she could see the floor was littered with the bodies of her shipmates. With a surge of panic, she realized she was probably the last of them still alive. 

“A musician, did you say?” the woman asked, turning her sharp eyes to Haseul. 

Haseul nodded quickly. “Yes, ma’am,” she said, subconsciously reacting to the woman’s authority. “I sing and play the violin.”

The woman’s eyebrows shot up. “The violin? Really? I haven’t heard one of those in ages.”

“Yves, about that …” both of their gazes turned to Olivia, who trailed off meekly. She was back with a heaving sack of jewels, and in the other hand was Haseul’s violin, completely battered and barely still in one piece. Haseul felt like Olivia may as well have stabbed her after all — her violin was one of her only two possessions, and was basically an extension of herself. 

“Sorry,” Olivia said without feeling. “You should see the other guy, though. He caught me off guard and I had to improvise.”

Yves sighed. “Olivia, get out of my sight.” Olivia scrambled away obediently, and Yves returned her intense stare to Haseul. “Alright, forget the violin. Let’s hear you sing something for me.”

Although her entire body was trembling, Haseul knew that she couldn’t fuck this up, so she took a deep breath to steady her voice before she began. She settled on a safe choice: Amazing Grace, a song she’s sung so many times it’s basically muscle memory. She shut her eyes, letting herself get lost in the melody, and only stopped when she opened them again and realized the rest of the women had gathered around to listen. 

Yves smiled approvingly. “Beautiful, but I can't say we’re much of a God-fearing crew. Do you know The Ballad of Captain Kidd?”

Thankfully Haseul did, and she launched into it without hesitation. This brought about a much more favourable reaction, all the women nodding and humming along, and Yves stopped her after a few bars. 

“That’ll do. What’s your name, girl?”

“Haseul...”

“Well, Haseul. Seeing as your previous employers are … indisposed, would you like to join our crew as our musician? Even cutthroat girls like us enjoy a tune from time to time. Mind, your other option is joining the rest of your mates.”

Haseul definitely didn’t have to think twice. “Yes, I’ll join,” she said breathlessly, thanking whatever gods exist that she’d been spared. The pirates led her onto their ship, and Haseul watched with wonder as they set fire to the old boat and sailed away, leaving all those bad memories going up in smoke.

She doesn’t know exactly how long it’s been since then, but she knows it must be a significant amount because it’s grown warm enough to wear your shirt with the sleeves rolled up and her hair has grown into slightly more than tufts and fuzz. It certainly feels like a whole new lifetime, getting to become a part of this strange little family. Because she does consider them family, now. Even though they’re pirates.

Not all of them are  _ active _ pirates, though. She finds a good friend in Lip, the doctor, who stays behind during the other girls’ raids to treat any wounds when they come back. (Luckily, they’re good enough at what they do that it’s mostly just bruises and scratches.) Since they let Haseul stay behind too (she’ll excuse their activities but she refuses to take part), they have lots of time to talk, and they’ve even progressed to playing cards to pass the time.

Then there’s the captain, Yves, and Olivia, who’d threatened her that first day. Haseul’s suspicions were correct — Olivia is the youngest in the crew, and she’s the boatswain, in charge of keeping the ship in shape. Choerry, the navigator, is only a handful of months older though. Like musicians, navigators are hard to find but even more crucial when you’re sailing, so they’d ‘gently kidnapped’ her from another boat, as they called it. Despite her cheery demeanor, she’s apparently one of the best in battle as well.

Finally, there’s Vivi, the quartermaster and the eldest of the crew. She’s the most important after Yves, and is almost like her right-hand. She runs the day-to-day tasks around the ship and carries out Yves’s orders, but Haseul has seen her sneaking into Yves’s chamber one too many times to believe that their relationship is strictly professional.

Then of course there’s Haseul, the newcomer. Haseul definitely has to pull her weight on this ship, and she’s been a pretty fast learner; she slowly comes to spend more time performing day-to-day duties around the ship than singing, and surprisingly, she doesn’t mind it. It’s nice to have something to do other than lounge around and feel like a caged songbird.

This isn’t Haseul’s first night guarding the ship alone, but it’s the first time she feels somewhat comfortable. The singing helps a lot; the music fills up the great dark expanse like a light in a windowless room and occupies her mind, dims her fears.

That is, until she hears another voice join her own.

“ _ My love, she came all dressed in white … Lowlands, lowlands away …” _

The voice is much quieter than Haseul’s, deeper, breathier, but it’s unmistakable — it’s so quiet Haseul can hear a fish jump, and there’s no denying that the other voice is  _ there _ . Haseul stops, fear seizing her heart in an icy grip, and the other voice continues for just a second longer before quieting too.

“Who’s there?” she calls out, her voice much louder than she feels. Her eyes dart around, but of course there’s nothing there; the sea is empty as far as the eye can see, and she would have been able to see someone else coming from miles away. Still, she hears a reedy giggle, and although she whips around so fast she pulls a muscle in her neck, she still can’t see anybody.

“Show yourself,” Haseul calls out, although that’s the last thing she wants. She can’t fight, she’s only just learned how to tell starship from port, for fuck’s sake. And while the other voice sounds gentle, it sends a threatening shiver down her spine. Luckily for her, whoever it is doesn’t appear, she just hears another soft laugh and the whispered lyrics of the song’s chorus, and then silence blankets her again.

“Haseul, who are you talking to?” a sleepy voice sounds, making Haseul jump almost out of her skin. She turns to see Choerry, rubbing at her eyes and dressed in a simple cloth nightgown.

“Nobody,” Haseul says, trying to calm her pounding heart. It wasn’t nobody, she knows that for sure, but she’s aware how it would sound if she were to tell Choerry what she just heard. They’d diagnose her with sea madness for sure, and there’s nothing to stop them from throwing her overboard then, so she keeps quiet.

It doesn’t take much convincing to get Choerry, who is obviously tired, back to her sleeping quarters. Haseul resumes her position at the ship’s bow, keeping her ears as alert as she can, but there isn’t so much as a single splash for the rest of the night. The adrenaline doesn’t leave her, though; whereas she was nodding off beforehand, now she stays wide awake until the sun bleeds red into the morning sky.

* * *

In a way, it’s a good thing that Haseul joins the crew during the harshest part of the winter. The other girls complain about the showers that spring brings, and from a pirating point of view, Haseul can understand how the constant storming forces them to alter their routes and dock for longer than they’d like to. To her, though, anything is better than the unforgiving cold of the winter. 

Thanks to the rough waters, they’ve been docked for two days already and Choerry advises they shouldn’t start sailing again in the next few days. Haseul is secretly quite grateful; she’s not one to get seasick, but the waves have been so choppy recently it’s started getting to her. Despite the pouring rain, her good mood is furthered by the pleasantly warm weather as she washes the deck, and she finds herself whistling even as she gets soaked. 

“It should be illegal for you to be this cheerful in this weather,” Olivia mutters from under the shrouds, where she and a couple other girls are taking refuge from the rain.

“It’s the warmest it’s been since the winter began!” Haseul responds, wringing the wet washcloth. “I might even go for a quick swim after I’m done here, I’ve worked up quite a sweat already.”

They’re anchored by a small cove where the waters are relatively calm, and Haseul can see a little cave from where she stands. She wants to go exploring there; not only will it be safe from the rain outside, but it reminds her of all the cave exploring she used to do with her friends when she was younger, all of them coming home with shards of shells and sea-glass clutches in their hands like valuable treasure. 

Although her newfound pirate life has helped her learn that obviously those little trinkets would be worth nothing, it warms her heart to think of how she would display all the neat things she found in her room. It’s surprising to think how, in such a short amount of time, she’s already beginning to think of this ship as home. 

When the deck is finally sparkling enough for Olivia's liking, she allows Haseul to finally take a break and go swimming like she wanted. Although she asks, nobody wants to go with her (she gets that not everyone likes the rain, but really, Choerry doesn’t have to call her a  _ lunatic _ ), but she’s content to swim alone. She likes the solitude, the way you can drift in and out of your own head aimlessly.

The one thing that Haseul can’t stand on this ship is their uniforms. She’d much prefer a simple cotton dress than the heavy breeches and dramatic silk shirts the other girls wear. She feels much better once she strips down to her undershirt and drawers, and the ocean water is like a dream to her sore limbs. She swims to the cove where it’s shallower and ducks into the entrance of the cave, so that she can still swim and enjoy the rain without being directly rained on. 

It’s the calmest she’s felt in a long time, so much that she begins to actually fall asleep, jolted back awake by a crab biting at her toe. She shakes it off, thankful that it saved her from possibly drowning in waist-deep water (which would be embarrassing more than tragic). To keep herself awake and busy, she decides to explore the cave a little and see if she can find any treasures to bring back for the girls.

The cave is nice and cool, and actually stretches out far longer than Haseul had realized, like a tunnel. She hums to herself quietly, fascinated with how the sound reverberates around the rocky walls. The water is nice and clear, too, and she finds several nice-looking shells and rocks to gift to her friends. They pile up until she’s carrying them in a little makeshift pouch in the bottom of her shirt, her humming gradually moving into whistling. She’s satisfied with her haul and ready to turn back around when a glimmer in the sand makes her pause.

It’s the color that stands out more than anything, a rich red almost winking at her from the ocean floor. Haseul approaches it cautiously, hoping it’s not a sea creature, but as she uncovers the sand around it she realizes it’s a rock almost the size of her fist. As she picks it up, she remembers what Yves told her about spotting real jewels from fake: the weight, coolness to the touch, appearance. Although it’s almost impossible to believe, what she’s holding is an enormous ruby.

Her heartbeat quickens as she continues down the cave, and now that she’s looking for them she can see jagged jewels and gold pieces littered everywhere. She can’t believe her luck — the girls will lose their minds when she shows them this. Even the few pieces she’s picked up are likely worth enough that they’ll never have to storm a ship again if they want to. Although, strangely, Haseul doesn’t want that to end.

She comes to a sudden stop when she realizes she’s at the end of the cave, which widens out into a small room. Her eyes almost fall out of her head when she realizes that the ground is entirely covered in sparkling jewels, piled up in the center like a mountain.

And at the top sits a woman. Or at least, Haseul thinks so; her attention is immediately drawn to her face, gorgeous and alluring, framed by glossy black hair. It flows over her shoulders, the ends of it just barely hiding her breasts. The sight is so distracting that it takes Haseul a moment to realize that her stomach flows into a  _ tail _ — an honest to god tail, the scales all various shades of blue, twinkling just like the gems she’s sitting on. The tail ends in two fins, which wave at Haseul as if to say hello. She’s looking right back at Haseul, smiling invitingly, until her gaze drops to the jewels Haseul’s holding and her face immediately changes.

Her eyes narrow into white, shark-like slits and her jaw contorts with a screech, easily the most horrible sound Haseul’s ever heard. It’s almost worse than the rows and rows of pointy teeth it reveals. Haseul instantly drops the jewels like they’re burning hot and runs, falling face-first into the water in her haste to get away. Thankfully the creature doesn’t follow her, but the echoing sound of her scream makes Haseul’s ears ring all the way out of the cave.

She’s never understood the term fight-or-flight reaction until now, but it’s undeniably pure adrenaline that propels her forward, out of the cave and back to the ship, because as soon as she makes it onto deck she passes out, falling into gratifying darkness where she doesn’t have to dwell on what she’s just seen.

When Haseul comes to, she’s being held by Yves while Lip presses a warm sponge to her forehead. As she drowsily drifts back into consciousness, she can hear Lip scolding the others. 

“Letting her out to swim in this weather? And  _ alone _ ? You’re lucky that she had the strength to make it back to the ship, otherwise these waves would have carried her halfway to Europe already. And she’s completely soaked through, for God’s sake. If she catches some horrible influenza and dies, her blood is on your hands, just know that.”

“Where was this conscience when we were pillaging that ship last week?” Olivia says dryly. 

“Don’t start with me, Olivia Hye!” Lip says, and her tone is so sharp it makes even Haseul come to attention. 

“Stop yelling, I’m fine,” she mutters, pushing the sponge away and opening her bleary eyes. She can see all the girls crowded around her, peering curiously at her like some sort of specimen.

“All right, give her some space,” Yves scolds lightly, and they do so, allowing Haseul to breathe. She manages to sit up with a little help from Yves, who rubs her shoulder comfortingly.

“What happened, Haseul?” Lip asks, her tone much softer.

Hasul shakes her head slowly, everything all rushing back to her suddenly. “I went for a swim like I told you guys, and I went into this cave with all these jewels — real, genuine jewels, huge ones, and bits of gold everywhere — and there was this woman …” here she trails off, realizing she can’t exactly tell them what she saw. A woman with the lower half of a fish? It sounds insane even to her, but there’s no doubt that it was real. She can’t shake that terrible sound from her mind.

Vivi and Yves exchanged worried looks above her head, and then they both turn to Olivia, who nods imperceptibly. Haseul hates when they do this, have entire conversations through a series of glances and gestures. It makes her feel like an awkward bystander. 

Eventually, Yves carefully speaks. “You saw a mermaid. Right? A woman with a tail?” 

“Yes!” Haseul exclaims, shocked. “They — they exist? You’ve seen them before?!”

“Most sailors see them at some point or the other, but they usually think they’re hallucinations caused by too long a time at sea,” Choerry explains.

“Probably because they tend to lure sailors in and make them wreck their ships so they can eat them,” Olivia adds.

Haseul chokes on air. “What?!”

“Don’t worry, they only do it to men,” Vivi says soothingly.

“Are you sure?” Haseul asks. “Because she looked really mad. I think she thought I was stealing her jewels.”

All eyes go to her instantly, and Yves asks sharply, “well, did you?”

“No!” Haseul says hurriedly. “I mean, I picked a few up, but she screamed at me and her face went all scary so I dropped everything and ran.”

They all collectively exhale, and Vivi nods in understanding. “Okay. As long as you didn’t take anything, you’re fine. Well, I don’t blame you for passing out. That must have been quite a shock,” she says sympathetically. “I think you’re fine, then, but maybe we should go anchor somewhere else, just to be safe?”

“But you were just talking about how strong the waves are,” Haseul says.

“For your limp, unconscious body, yes. This ship is stronger, I guarantee. We’re fine to start sailing. Captain?” She locks eyes with Yves, who listens to the storm for a moment before nodding. Haseul has to admire the way they work together; as quartermaster, Vivi can technically overrule any of the captain’s decisions unless they’re in battle, but Haseul hasn’t seen it happen even once. They always manage to meet in the middle.

As everyone starts dispersing to prepare the ship for sailing again, Olivia sidles up to Haseul. “Hey. The mermaid you saw, what did she look like?”

“You’ve never seen one?” Haseul asks, feeling for a moment like she has some experience on the other girl, even though she’s four years older.

“No, I have. But I’m asking  _ you _ ,” Olivia says, and Haseul caves, because she’s still kind of scared of her.

“Well, she had a tail, obviously. It was blue. And she had black hair,” Haseul begins, but Olivia seems to lose interest and shoves past her, calling to Choerry to help her lift the anchor.

As Choerry walks past, she claps a hand comfortingly on Haseul’s shoulder. “I know they can be a little scary, but don’t worry,” she assures. “It won’t come after you if you didn’t steal its stuff.”

“ _ She _ ,” Olivia calls pointedly, motioning to Choerry to hurry up, and Choerry goes with a sympathetic smile, leaving Haseul to lie back on the makeshift bed. Feeling a headache beginning to come on, she picks up the abandoned sponge and presses it to her head, which is buzzing with everything she still needs to process. 

Mermaids are real. There’s no doubt about that one: no illusion or trick of the light could feign the way her soft-looking skin had blended gradually into scales. Mermaids are  _ scary _ , too. She can’t stop thinking about how that angelic face had turned into something out of a nightmare so fast. 

As Choerry tells her a hundred times, she has no reason to worry if she didn’t take any of the mermaid’s treasure. Instead of helping to relax her, this just manifests in the form of many stress dreams about finding a diamond tucked into her shirt and the mermaid butchering everyone on board, saving her for last. 

It’s during one of those many sleepless nights (she can never go back to sleep after waking in such a fright) that she comes across Olivia, sitting at the bow and playing solitaire by the moonlight. Olivia is known to stay up until the small hours of the night playing her strange little games, so Haseul walks over to her, thinking they could both use some company. 

“Can I join?” she asks, sitting across from Olivia but giving her plenty of space. Olivia has definitely been the hardest to make friends with, although the rest of the crew assures her that’s not her fault; the girl is generally quite withdrawn.

“It’s called  _ solitaire _ ,” she points out, but sighs when Haseul deflates a little. “You can watch, if you want.”

“Thanks,” Haseul says, and a somewhat comfortable silence lapses between them as Olivia plays with her cards. Left to wander, Haseul’s mind drifts back to mermaids as it often does these days. She remembers her strange conversation with Olivia that day, and figures she might as well bring it up. Maybe the girl will be more willing to share under cover of darkness. 

“So … have you seen a mermaid before?” she asks, crossing her legs. Olivia looks up only briefly, and simply says, “yes.”

When it’s clear she isn’t going to elaborate further, Haseul prods, “okay, well, tell me about it.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m bored and I can’t get back to sleep.”

“So you want a bedtime story?” Olivia half-laughs. Haseul just folds her arms and stares stubbornly. Eventually, Olivia sighs, putting the cards down for a minute.

“We were raiding what we thought was a husk, but it turns out there was one man still on board. He crept up on me and threw me overboard, and I cut my leg hard on a piece of rock and couldn’t swim.” She hikes up her pant leg, revealing a ghastly scar that makes Haseul’s own leg twitch. “Someone pulled me out and back up onto the ship, and I didn’t see her, but the other girls swore it was a mermaid. Saw her tail and everything.”

Haseul gasps. “Wow. She saved you?”

“They aren’t monsters,” Olivia says irritably, picking the cards back up.

“Sorry, sorry. Keep going, please.”

“That’s all there is to it, anyway.”

“What, so you never saw her again?” Haseul challenges. There’s something about the way Olivia is hesitant to approach this topic and passionate when she does — it makes Haseul think there’s more to the story.

Olivia caves under Haseul’s relentless interrogation. “No, I still see her sometimes. Just swimming past. We talk sometimes.” Haseul’s eyes bulge at that, and Olivia instantly looks regretful at divulging that information.

“They can talk?!” Haseul exclaims. “Like, human language?”

“Well, I don’t know about all of them, but she can, yes,” Olivia replies.

“What do you talk about?”

“Nothing much,” Olivia says, and starts dealing a new game. Haseul can tell that’s not true but she can also tell that Olivia’s done talking (which she barely has), so she bids her goodnight and retreats to her chambers. The warm air made her sleepy, and she supposes she shouldn’t pry anyway. Haseul has a feeling the other girls don’t know the rest of the story, and she understands how important it is to keep some things a secret when you have to share your life on a ship with five other women.

Her own little secret hangs heavy at her chest as she undresses for bed. Quite literally — it’s a weighty gold coin she’d been gifted by her mother, and before leaving to start a life at sea she attached it to a thin chain and started wearing it under all her clothes. She was scared someone would try and steal it from her, the last tangible memory she had of her former life. That’s why she’d kept it hidden from the pirates at first, but now she realizes it’s not valuable enough for them to care about. Still, though, she feels oddly protective of it, and is content to keep it to herself. 

She falls asleep cradling it gently, and it’s probably childish to think so, but she believes it’s her mother watching over her when she wakes the next morning from a restful, dreamless sleep. 

* * *

After that, Haseul’s mild mermaid obsession dies down. The girls are understanding enough at first when she meekly admits she’s scared to be on deck at night alone, but they all get irritable when they lose sleep — especially Lip — so she decides to swallow her fear down and move on. 

And it works, for a little while. The weather changes from gentle spring into hot summer, and her hair tickles the tops of her ears now. Choerry has a birthday and they all celebrate by taking the day off from all their duties to go swimming together. Haseul feels like a fond older sister, watching Choerry pore over a map excitedly, chattering about this cove she wants to go to. 

However, when they finally arrive after days of sailing, Haseul freezes at the helm. The rock formations leading to an entrance of a little cave — it’s far too familiar. 

“Starboard, Haseul!” Lip yells in annoyance, and Haseul swerves just in time to avoid the jagged rocks under the water’s surface. It’s too close a call for her liking, though, so she focuses extra hard at the task at hand. 

After Olivia drops the anchor, Choerry comes up to Haseul. “Are you alright?” she asks, wide-eyed, and of course Haseul can’t ruin her birthday so she nods and smiles. She’s fine, she reminds herself. She didn’t take anything. 

The rest of the girls don’t recognize the spot — of course they wouldn’t, they’ve sailed the seas so many times that all the coves must start to look alike. Haseul’s nerves are still jumping, but she forces them down and joins the other girls in stripping down to their cotton drawers and paddling into the shallow water, squealing and giggling at the cold water.

It’s impossible to relax at first, Haseul’s nerves jumping every time she glances into the gaping maw of the cave, but the rest of the girls’ fun is contagious and it’s impossible not to succumb. Looking at them now, it would be hard to believe that they’re a bunch of murderous pirates; they look every bit like a family having a day off at the beach (except Lip, who sits on the shore and refuses to do more than dip her toes in the water, reading a medical handbook and trying to protect the pages from the water).

Although Haseul genuinely enjoys spending time on the ship, it’s rare that they have a complete day off like this, with no ship duties or sailing to do. They paddle about lazily for hours, skipping rocks and telling stories. The ship dynamic seems to have dissolved along with Haseul’s inhibitions — Olivia takes it upon herself to bother Yves as much as she possibly can, dunking her head under the water and ambushing her with piggyback rides. Haseul knows captains who would make their crewmates walk the plank for disrespecting them, but Yves just rolls her eyes wearily and dunks Olivia back. Even Vivi, ever the serious one, manages to get roped into a game of chicken, balancing a squealing Haseul on her shoulders as she tries to shove Choerry off where she’s sitting atop Olivia’s shoulders. (Naturally, Olivia and Choerry win, but only because Olivia plays dirty and kicks Vivi in the knees, causing her and Haseul to tumble into the water.)

By the time the sun sets and it’s too cold to stay in the water any longer, Haseul’s almost completely forgotten that she was ever scared in the first place, thoroughly happy and exhausted. They’ve been putting out some driftwood to dry in the sun and they use it to build a fire, over which they cook fish and point out the constellations beginning to become visible in the night sky. Lip goes back to the boat, and Haseul assumes that she’s turning in early as usual, but she returns not long after with a  _ cake _ , which makes them all sit up. It’s very small, but it’s a proper cake, with icing and everything. Haseul’s stomach growls, unable to remember the last time she had something sweet that wasn’t a hardtack stale enough to break teeth on.

“Lip, you didn’t!” Choerry squeals, clapping excitedly. “Where did you even get this?!”

“From a bakery when we docked at that port five days ago,” Lip says, gruff as always, but even she’s smiling. “It cost me an absolute fortune, you know how expensive sugar is these days, but. Well. Happy birthday, Choerry.”

Choerry throws herself at Lip in a bear hug and kisses her cheek, making Lip go red and complain about how she’s getting her all wet, but Haseul can tell she’s touched at the affection. Even though the cake is barely large enough for one person, Choerry insists on splitting it between all of them, saving the smallest piece for herself.

As Haseul snacks on the precious pastry, trying to make it last as long as possible, she feels a surge of affection for the girl — for all of them, really. She can’t and doesn’t want to imagine what her life would have been like if they hadn’t adopted her into their ragtag little group, and although they’re all pirates and criminals, she’s never felt more loved and accepted.

Although Choerry protests insistently that she’s an adult now, she begins yawning and nodding off to sleep after night falls, so Yves decides to call it a day and shepherds them all back onto the ship. There’s none of the usual lounging around and playing checkers; they’re all exhausted from all the swimming they’ve done, bone-tired in a way that’s different to the exhaustion that comes after a raid. They all bid each other a good night and return to their quarters, eager to get some sleep and all secretly hoping Lip will let them sleep in the next morning.

Haseul expects to be out like a light the moment she falls into bed, but for some reason she can’t fall asleep. Maybe it’s the sugar coursing through her veins, or maybe it’s the strong moonlight that her makeshift curtains can’t keep out. Whatever it is, she simply cannot get to sleep, tossing and turning well after she’s sure the rest of the crew have knocked out.

Since it’s becoming clear she isn’t going to fall asleep anytime soon, she decides she might as well get up and make herself useful, maybe clean some dishes or start preparing tomorrow’s breakfast (gruel, as usual, which will no doubt be even more flavorless after that delicious cake). As she makes her way onto the upper deck, though, she hears something that makes her freeze in place.

“ _ I dreamed my love came in my sleep … Lowlands, lowlands away … _ ”

She’d almost forgotten about the time she heard that strange voice at the ship’s bow, having brushed it off as an overactive imagination, but now it’s undeniable that it’s the same voice: rich and beautiful, even though the intonation is slightly off. To Haseul’s confusion, her feet start moving on their own, even though her mind is flooded with panic. She can’t explain it, but somehow, she  _ needs  _ to get closer.

The voice continues to serenade her as she walks, as if in a trance, up to the bow. The night wind is brutal and she’s shivering in her thin nightgown, but she can’t seem to stop herself from moving towards that sound. It’s apparent that it’s not coming from the boat, though, so she walks over to the edge of the ship and peers into the midnight-blue abyss beyond. What she sees almost makes her fall overboard, if not for the iron grip she has on the ship’s railing.

It’s her — the mermaid from the cave. Only her head is visible, bobbing above the surface, and her inky hair seems to flow into the ocean so that Haseul can’t tell where she ends and the water begins. When she sees Haseul she smiles, but it’s nothing like the playful grin from the last time she saw her: it’s wide, sinister, with far too many teeth that gleam like shards of porcelain in the moonlight. 

To Haseul’s horror, the mermaid begins scaling the side of the boat, her tail becoming visible as she slowly comes out of the water. Every instinct in her body is screaming at her to run, but it’s as if she’s rooted to the spot, the creature’s song making her feel dizzy. She inches closer and closer, gripping onto the railing and leaning forwards, and with her face a hair’s breadth away, Haseul can see that her eyes are completely white.

Then she stops singing, blinks, and they’re back to a more normal blue.

“You’re a girl!” she exclaims, her voice high with surprise, and Haseul can see that her teeth are definitely more human-looking now.

It’s so unexpected that Haseul doesn’t even know what to do except stutter out “yes”, which comes out as more than a question.

“I just thought before, because of your hair … but it’s longer now.” She reaches out a hand to touch it, her eyes full of curiosity, and Haseul almost lets her, mesmerized by her beauty now that she doesn’t look terrifying. Then she notices that the hand coming towards her is faint blue like a corpse and slightly scaly, and she jumps back, finding that her reflexes suddenly work again.

“Don’t hurt me!” she shrieks, falling back on her ass and scooting backwards frantically. “Please, I didn’t take anything!”

The mermaid leans her head on her arms, smiling in amusement at Haseul’s cowering form. “Oh, relax. It would be very uncourteous of me to kill a pretty lady.”

“Y-you’re just saying that,” Haseul says, feeling uncomfortably warm. “To seduce me and then eat me! My crewmates told me!”

The mermaid wrinkles her nose. “Is that what they say about that? Idiots,” she scoffs. “We’re strict vegetarians. Although, to be honest, sometimes I get sick of kelp and seaweed and would love a nice, juicy tuna.”

“Wouldn’t that be cannibalism?” Haseul says, unable to help herself.

“Because I’m half fish? Wouldn’t eating humans be cannibalism too, then?” she retorts.

Haseul knows she should probably run like hell now that she can see the mermaid doesn’t intend on eating her, but she can’t say she isn’t intrigued by her. It’s not everyday you see a talking, walking (well, swimming) mermaid.

“Touche,” she says, and the mermaid laughs.

“You’re funny, human. What’s your name?”

“Haseul,” Haseul says, against her better judgment. “What’s yours?”

“Jinsol,” she says, and then cocks her head. “Your voice seems very familiar.”

“Well, that song you were singing just now … I think I heard you sing it before, a long time ago,” Haseul says. She’s not as scared now, but she still doesn’t dare get any nearer to her. “I was singing it too.”

“Oh, that was you?” she exclaims. “I hear more sailors than you’d think singing in the night, but not all of them sounded as lovely. I just had to join when I heard you.”

“Thank you,” Haseul says, knowing that her ears are probably glowing red even in the dark. She’s been subconsciously nearing, and she jumps when she sees a blue fin waving behind Jinsol’s head. She’d almost forgotten about the tail.

It just makes her realize how surreal the situation all is, and she stands on shaky legs. “I’m going to sleep now,” she says. “Thank you for not attacking me.”

“Thank you for talking to me,” Jinsol says with a wink and a flick of her tail. “It gets lonely out here sometimes.”

With that, she sinks back into the water, diving deep and disappearing from sight in seconds. Still, Haseul stares at the surface of the water for a long time, until all the ripples have disappeared and there’s no sign anything was ever amiss. Then she returns to her bunk, though as expected, she doesn’t catch a wink of sleep until the sun starts bleeding through her window. 


	2. never let me go

Haseul doesn’t have much time to dwell on her encounter with Jinsol. Choerry catches a particularly bad cold, and Haseul is instructed to take care of her so that Lip can focus on her studies. Haseul still doesn’t know much about the doctor’s past except that she used to be a medical student before this, and she takes her education (if you could call it that) very seriously.

Haseul would have volunteered to do it anyway, even if she hadn’t been asked. Although Choerry is one of the youngest of their crew, she’s one of the most caring, and her effervescent personality does wonders for keeping their spirits up. She’s happy to dote on Choerry for a while, keeping her entertained with gossip and chess. Both of them are quite good at it now after months of practice, and their game stretches out over several days. Choerry’s symptoms go away within a week, and Haseul wins the game. 

By that time they’ve moved far away from the cove, miles and miles away from Jinsol. Haseul still feels it wouldn’t be enough even if they had an entire ocean between them, though. She still wakes up some nights, cold sweat cooling her neck and the image of Jinsol’s shark-like grin embedded into her eyelids. She’d hoped that time would make the memory fade, but if anything her imagination makes it out to be even scarier than it was, if that’s possible.

Despite the nightmares, Haseul is resolved to put the incident as far away from her mind as possible. She hasn’t talked to anybody about it, not even Olivia. Her mouth still goes dry when she remembers how she was literally paralyzed by fear, and it makes her feel weak, too. She doesn’t want to deal with all that, so instead she pretends nothing ever happened and throws herself into her work aboard the ship.

After sailing for days, they dock in the port of a small town. As always, the first thing Vivi does is intercept any surrounding radio frequencies, and to everyone’s delight she picks up on the departure of a large gold-carrying ship tomorrow. If they manage to follow the ship out far enough from land, they can ambush them and take off with as many gold bars as they can, which they can either keep or re-sell at the next dock. 

This good news puts them all in a gleeful mood, and they go out to celebrate in a pub nearby. Haseul wants to protest, but the girls won’t take no for an answer from anybody, not even Lip. They all crowd into a booth, miraculously finding space amidst all the other drunk sailors having a drink here, and promptly descend into a night full of merriment.

The alcohol makes them all even less inhibited than usual, and soon Olivia’s challenging several men to a game of pool while Choerry is collecting bets. Lip is trying not to fall asleep at the table, and Yves and Vivi are in a little bubble of their own, tucked comfortably into the corner of the booth and whispering things only meant for each others’ ears.

It’s sweet to see them like this, vulnerable and soft compared to their tough exteriors, but it makes Haseul more than a little lonely. Life at sea is very isolating, and she often longs for someone’s company. Maybe that’s why she accepts a cigarette when a pretty redhead offers one. Haseul’s noticed the way the girl’s been looking at her all night, fluttering her eyelashes as she asks if Haseul has a light, and Haseul decides to go out to where the girl’s beckoning her in the alley.

She knows she can’t go home with this girl, that she has to be back at the ship before midnight, so they make quick work of it in the alley behind the pub. It’s not particularly romantic, all rushed hands and tongue and teeth, but Haseul supposes any sort of intimate touch is good enough. Even though she can’t stop herself imagining black hair instead of rusty red, her mind conjuring up images of sharp fangs when the girl’s teeth sink into her skin.

The girl is very nice, offering to take Haseul home even though she has to decline again. Although she’s satisfied physically, she can’t stop this uncomfortable feeling gnawing away at her, like something’s very wrong. It’s no surprise that she has nightmares again. This one is more vivid than usual, though; when she wakes up, the dream dissolving quickly into nothing, she swears she can still hear Jinsol’s voice in her ears until she leaps out of bed in fright.

The bad feeling stays with her all throughout breakfast, all the way up until the other girls start to get ready for their raid, chatting and joking as they sharpen their weapons. The weather is stormy, which feels like a bad omen even though the girls say the thick fog will help them not be spotted as they follow the other ship. Haseul wants to cling onto their legs like a child and wail  _ don’t go! _ , but she can’t see that faring well, so she lets them go without voicing any of her concerns.

Lip keeps her busy as usual while the other girls are gone, making her scrub the deck while she watches on. Her worries fade along with the dirt as she scrubs and scrubs, the repetitive moment calming her. The bad feeling is almost gone until she hears the unmistakable sound of gunshots and knows that, unfortunately, her gut was right.

“Shit,” Lip swears, both of them immediately jumping into action. They don’t even have to speak while they prepare Lip’s medical supplies; Haseul’s been rigorously trained for moments like these, but she hasn’t had to experience them apart from now. Moments after Haseul puts some water on to boil, the girls all burst onto deck, clamoring over one another.

“Choerry, get us out of here  _ now! _ Lip, sterilize some tweezers,” Vivi calls desperately. Haseul wonders for a moment why Yves isn’t the one shouting out orders, then the girls get closer and she sees why: their captain is slumped over, unresponsive and blood-spattered, while Vivi and Olivia struggle to carry her between them.

“Oh god,” Haseul whispers, unable to move as they shove past her, heaving Yves onto the makeshift gurney. Lip barks that she needs ice, and Olivia runs off instantly. “Wh-what happened? Is she…”

“She’s alive,” Vivi almost snaps. “They had guns, mother _ fuckers _ . She only got shot in the leg, though, but one of those bastards stomped on it afterwards and she passed out from the pain. That blood all over her is mostly his.” Vivi’s expression has changed to something venomous, and Haseul shudders to think of what she must have (deservedly) done to that man.

“I see the bullet,” Lip says, wiping the gushing blood away and peering into the wound. Haseul’s stomach turns, and she has to look away, unprepared for seeing the battle wounds she’s heard so much about.

“I can’t,” she says, barely above a whisper, and Lip motions for her to go, distracted by the task at hand.

“Haseul, go. We can’t have any weak stomachs in here. And tell Olivia to get me that goddamn ice!” she barks. Haseul’s never seen Lip like this, fierce and authoritative, and her firm tone forces Haseul to move, leaving the room and trying to calm the nausea she feels.

Olivia runs into her on the way back, carrying a sopping towel which Haseul assumes is full of ice. They’re all in the room with Yves, and Choerry’s navigating, and it makes her feel completely useless, wandering around the suddenly empty ship. She goes to the kitchen, thinking she’ll prepare something for dinner, but she can’t even bring herself to start gutting the fish. She ends up hunched over the sink, sobbing, the knife still trembling in her hands.

She jumps when she feels hands on her shoulders, but it’s just Olivia, pulling her into a comforting hug. Haseul accepts the contact, feeling touched knowing that Olivia isn’t really one for affection, and the firm embrace does a good job at calming her down.

As soon as the rushing panic fades, embarrassment comes flooding in at the fact that the youngest member of the boat is comforting  _ her _ , a crying mess. Haseul jumps back from the hug and wipes roughly at her eyes, trying to collect herself. “How is she?”

“She’ll be fine,” Olivia confirms, prompting a deep sigh of relief from Haseul. “Lip got the bullet out pretty easy, and she’s stitching it shut now. Yves woke up halfway through that, although from the earful I got, I bet she wishes she’d stayed unconscious.”

Haseul manages a weak smile. “I bet… I hope it’s not too painful.”

“It definitely is, but the liquor she’s going through like water should help,” Olivia says. “Give it another twenty minutes and she’ll be out cold again.” Despite her attempt to bring humor into the situation, Haseul can tell that Olivia’s shaken.

“What happened?” she asks.

Olivia looks back at the hallway, like she’s scared one of the girls will hear, then she launches into the story, her voice low.

“We lost our sighting a little bit when we were boarding. The mist got really thick and I thought we should maybe wait, but it wasn’t getting any better, so we decided to just go ahead and storm in. We weren’t the first to get there, though.”

“Other pirates?” Haseul asks. It wouldn’t be too unlikely. 

“No. Mermaids,” Olivia says, her voice dropping even further, and Haseul almost falls over in her attempt to lean in.

“Fuck,” Haseul utters. 

Olivia nods grimly, and continues: “they already had one of the men down and were fighting with the rest of them. They had guns, but the mermaids didn’t get hurt like normal humans — it slowed them down, but it just made them angrier. We tried to keep going with the raid, hoping that the chaos would cover us, but we just got caught up in the middle and, well…” she trails off, shaking her head. “We came back as soon as Yves got hurt, meaning we got absolutely nothing. Fucking waste of time.” She glares down at her feet.

Haseul starts biting her nails, a subconscious nervous habit. “I had a bad feeling about this all day, I swear. I should have said something.”

Olivia scoffs. “You can’t really believe in that sixth-sense crap, can you? There was nothing we could have done to anticipate this.”

Haseul nods, trying to convince herself of that, and asks the question that’s been burning ever since she heard Olivia say  _ that  _ word. “The mermaids that were there… was there one with a blue tail? And black hair?”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t really looking at the rest of them,” Olivia says regretfully. Haseul picks up on her word choice immediately.

“The  _ rest  _ of them? Did you see the one you know?” Haseul asked.

Olivia nods, her eyes looking faraway. “Yeah. I saw her and I just froze up, Haseul. I just ... I keep thinking about that moment. Maybe if I'd reacted faster I could have done ... _something_, God, I don't know.”

“Hey, you just said there’s nothing we could have done about this,” Haseul reminds her. “Let’s not worry about what’s already happened, okay?”

“Okay. Okay,” Olivia agrees, even though she still sounds wistful.

“Come on, let’s go see if Lip needs any help,” Haseul says, knowing well that she will. She thinks they could both more than use a distraction right now.

* * *

Yves’s recovery is as fast as it can be, although it still goes by too slow for Haseul. She worries every step of the way, asking Lip if she’s  _ sure  _ it’s not infected and insisting on helping Yves walk around everywhere. Yves reassures her, tells her it’s not her first battle wound and won’t be her last. Haseul knows this is true; she’s seen the thick scar tissue lining Yves’s arms and torso when she undresses into casual clothing.

Still, the whole ordeal reminds Haseul of the scary fact that her entire crew is simply human. They all run the risk of dying every time they attack another ship or steal from a dock, and Haseul is painfully aware of that after seeing her captain, who’s strong in every sense of the world, hobbling around deck like an old woman and wincing in pain with every movement.

Although the rest of the crew is more used to this than her, they’ve all been affected by Yves’s injury. Even the tightest, most well-oiled team struggles without their leader, so they decide to take an unofficial sabbatical from all their usual activities until Yves is fully healed. They currently have enough money to be able to live comfortably for a good month or two, but Haseul knows that they’re going to have to go back to pirating soon, and the thought scares her more than she wants to admit.

She volunteers to man the boat at night as often as she can without it looking suspicious. Part of it is because she’s come to enjoy the solitude quite a lot, what with the tense atmosphere that she lives in now. Part of it is because she wants to see Jinsol again, even though she’s still scared and, for some reason, mad. Of course, there’s a chance that Jinsol had nothing at all to do with this, but still, Haseul wants to see her for herself.

Surprisingly, her wish is granted much sooner than later. She thinks it’s a bit of a long shot, given that they’re nowhere near the cove where Haseul saw her the first few times, but after several nights of silence, one night she finally hears her song returned to her. Undeniably, it's Jinsol’s smooth voice ringing loudly in the night.

Haseul waits at her for at the railing this time, ready for when she pokes her head over the side of the ship. “Good evening,” she says playfully, but Haseul’s eyes immediately go to her chest. It’s covered up by her glossy black hair as usual, but Haseul can see the raw, irritated redness of a gunshot wound through the waves.

“You were on that boat,” Haseul says immediately, anger clouding every other emotion. “You hurt my friends!”

Jinsol’s mouth twists in displeasure. “I didn’t touch any of your friends,” she snips. “I was there for the same reason as they were, actually. It’s not my fault they were stupid enough to join the fight.”

“Fine, but you  _ would  _ have hurt them if the other sailors hadn’t gotten round to it first,” Haseul argues. “You wouldn’t have let them get to the gold before you did.”

“Well, obviously not,” Jinsol says, annoyed. “But it goes both ways. They would have killed us for it too, right? If we got to it before they did?”

Haseul flounders for a moment. “Well, yeah, but that’s not the same thing. You're mermaids, what the hell do you even need gold for?”

Jinsol rolls her eyes. “Of course it's the same thing. You don't _need _it either; we both just _want _it. You all kill and steal just the same as us, but we must be the monsters because we look different, right? I don’t even know why I’m trying to explain to you, actually. You’re just like the rest of them.”

“I am not!” Haseul protests, the words stinging hard for some reason. “I’m not even a real pirate. I just sing and do chores on the ship.”

“But you were still going to steal from me in the cave,” Jinsol says.

“I already told you, I didn’t take anything!” Haseul says hotly.

“Yes, but only because I scared you off. Can you look me in the eyes and honestly say you wouldn’t have touched a single jewel if that cave was empty?”

Haseul finds that she can’t do that. Mostly because it’s true; she had been loading up her shirt and already trying to price the jewels before she was Jinsol. But really, it’s hard to say  _ anything  _ while looking Jinsol in the eyes. They’re so big and blue, endlessly inviting, and Haseul feels like she’s fallen in.

“See, you can’t. Greed is human nature, darling. It’s inside all of us.” As she speaks, she moves closer and closer to Haseul, until her lips are right up against the sensitive shell of her ear. “The only difference between us is that I admit it. Will you?”

As she says this, her hand comes to stroke along Haseul’s neck, and Haseul can’t stop the full-bodied shiver that runs through her. She should be disgusted at how Jinsol’s skin feels cold and wet and scaly, but she’s not. It feels good. Hundreds of times better than all the ways that girl at the pub had touched her.

The fleeting touch is gone in a second, and then Jinsol’s retreating alarmingly fast back into the waves, her giggle lingering long after she disappears under the water. Haseul swallows roughly, her own hand coming up to touch her neck. She can feel her heartbeat thudding under the thin skin, but what she can’t feel is the familiar chain of metal.

She panics when she realizes what Jinsol’s done, almost jumping after her into the water, but it’s no use. It’s evident that mermaids can swim just as fast as a boat can sail, and Jinsol is probably hundreds of meters away already. Instead she just grips the railing so tight her knuckles go white, screaming “Come back! My necklace!” until her throat is hoarse, knowing that her cries are to no avail. 

Olivia finds her like that early the next morning, passed out from exhaustion at the bow of the ship. Lip demands a day of bed rest for her, saying she’s been overworking herself recently. When she thinks back on it, it’s kind of true; she’s still been doing the daily cooking and cleaning for her shipmates while also tending to Yves and spending every spare moment obsesing over Jinsol. 

When Olivia leads her to her chambers, bringing a book for entertainment, she asks her to shut the door and sit down. The younger obeys, and even though her eyes shine with curiosity, she waits until Haseul speaks first.

“I saw the mermaid again. Last night.”

Olivia’s eyes widen. “The one you saw before?”

“Yes,” Haseul says, her throat tight all of a sudden. “She  _ was _ involved in that fight on the boat. I saw a bullet wound on her.”

“Well, shit.” Olivia runs a hand through her hair, looking hassled. 

“That’s not all. She took my necklace,” Haseul says, horrified at how she can feel tears beginning to threaten.

“What necklace?” Olivia asks, puzzled.

“It’s a gold coin. My mother gave it to me,” Haseul explains, and Olivia clicks her tongue ruefully.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Haseul. I’d offer to get you another gold coin but I know it wouldn’t be the same … god, they’re so conniving. I can’t believe I could have thought she was different.” Olivia says this last part almost to herself, but Haseul still feels a little guilty, remembering her conversation with Jinsol from last night.

“Maybe she is different. She saved you,” Haseul tries, but Olivia shakes her head, determined.

“No, this is getting out of hand. We’re seeing these mermaids everywhere, they’re attacking ships directly, and now they come onto  _ our  _ deck and steal from one of our own?” 

Haseul feels fondness at Olivia calling her one of their own, but the girl’s tone troubles her. “So what are we gonna do?”

“We need to talk to Yves about this,” Olivia responds, which is exactly what Haseul has been dreading.

“Okay … can we do it at dinner, though? I want a few hours to rest.”

“Of course,” Olivia says, leaving her to herself. In all honesty, that didn’t go how she expected. She’d wanted to confide in Olivia just to get it off her chest, not to push the crew into action, but the more she thinks about it the more she starts to feel angry instead of upset. Jinsol  _ is  _ conniving, pretending to be friendly and playing at flirting to get her guard down. Haseul grimaces when she thinks of how naive she was; if she hadn’t noticed Jinsol’s robbery yesterday, the mermaid probably would have continued to woo her until she was robbing the ship blind, probably.

Olivia breaks the news at dinner, sensing how nervous Haseul is about it. Haseul could have heard a pin drop during the entire retelling, and one by one each girl stops eating her food, absorbed in the story.

When Olivia finished, Vivi lets out a noise of outrage. “Those _things_ have the audacity to stop our raid, get our captain injured, and now they want to rob us on our own ship? No. This has to come to an end.”

“Vivi, relax,” Yves says, pressing a soothing hand to the quartermaster’s arm. 

“But she’s right,” Lip argues. “We could have made a mint off of those gold bars, had we gotten to them, and you know damn well that we could have outfought those sailors even with their guns. The only reason you got shot is because you were distracted.”

“Don’t talk to your captain that way!” Vivi snaps, and Yves squeezes her arm again.

“She doesn’t mean that Yves wasn’t concentrated,” Choerry reasons. “Just that surely nobody could focus on a fight when there are several half-human fish killing people in front of you.”

Vivi nods, sighs. “Sorry, Lip. I’m just … very angry at how they’ve constantly been getting in our way, and at our expense.”

“I am too,” Olivia says. “Believe me, we all are.”

“So what are we going to do?” Choerry asks.

“Kill them, of course,” Olivia says with alarming calm. “There’s no other option.”

Haseul chokes on her sip of water. “That’s a bit extreme!”

“I agree,” Choerry says, looking concerned, but Vivi’s shaking her head.

“No, Olivia’s right,” Vivi says. “They are making direct threats against us. It’s either we kill them or they kill us, and they’ve already hurt us enough.”

Yves frowns at this. “Vivi, I’m alright,” she says gently. “I think the best thing to do is steer clear of them. They’re clearly far stronger than us, and we don’t know how many there are. They’ll probably win in a fight.”

“They’ll  _ definitely  _ win in a fight if they storm us while we’re sleeping,” Lip points out. “Shouldn’t we take our best chances and go in fighting?” At this, even Choerry purses her lips, considering.

“No, it’s too risky,” Yves says, with an edge of finality. “Plus, they're clearly able to move around as fast as we can, and we don’t even know if they have a main location where they live.”

“Haseul does,” Olivia says, and then all their eyes turn to her.

“Huh. That’s right,” Vivi muses. “You saw one in the first time in that cave, right? The others are bound to be nearby.”

“Exactly. Even if we only get one, it’s better than none,” Olivia says.

“Hold on just a minute!” Haseul exclaims, high-pitched. She’s completely stunned at the turn this conversation’s taking, and it’s leaving a bad taste in her mouth. “You’re asking me to lead you into her home to kill her? No! I won’t!”

“Her home? She came into  _ your  _ home and could have killed  _ you _ , Haseul!” Vivi says.

“But she didn’t!” Haseul argues. “They don’t attack for no reason, okay? And if they do steal things from time to time, so what? So do you!”

Olivia stares at her. “Are you insane? She stole your necklace right off of you! She was close enough to snap your neck!”

“Besides, we steal things to survive. They don’t  _ need  _ all those jewels, they just think they’re pretty,” Lip snorts.

“Well, I don’t think she should die for that!” Haseul shouts.

“Yves could have fucking died!” Vivi says hotly. “You don’t think they need to be punished for that?”

“That wasn’t her fault, she’s not the one who shot at her!”

“But she—”

Yves slams her fist down on the table, making them all jump. “Enough! As your captain I am telling you to put an end to all this mermaid talk,  _ right _ now. This is a non-issue and I'm not discussing it any further.”

“I’m sorry, Yves, but as your quartermaster, I’m overturning your decision,” Vivi says firmly. Yves looks like she’s been slapped, but Vivi continues. “We’re going to set sail for the mermaid’s cave tomorrow. Haseul will lead us there. We will find her and the rest of her clan if they’re around, and kill them. That’s final.”

Haseul gapes, floundering for words. “I—I just won’t take you there, then!”

“Choerry knows the way,” Vivi says coolly. “She never forgets a destination. And she knows better than to disobey direct orders. You might think this is a fun little cruise ship, Haseul, but it’s not. You are part of a crew and that means you will take your superiors’ commands or leave.”

“Then I’ll leave!” Haseul exclaims, near-hysterical.

“Haseul,” Choerry begins, but Vivi barks out a laugh.

“You’re free to go the next time we reach land, my dear, but until then you  _ will  _ do exactly as I say or you’ll be thrown overboard.” The look in Vivi’s eyes tells Haseul that she’s being completely serious.

Haseul wants to respond, but she can’t, feeling herself get choked up with tears for the second time today. She gets up from the table abruptly before she says something she’ll regret, the force of her movement knocking her chair back. Ignoring Choerry’s pleas for her to stay, she steps over the fallen chair, forcing herself to stay composed at least until she’s out of their sight.

Once she’s in her room, she locks the door and collapses into a heap of tears on her bed. Luckily for her, she’s so emotionally worn-out that she cries herself right into sleep. Unluckily, she has anxious dreams all night, of gold chains between webbed fingers and gunshots piercing her ears.

* * *

Choerry determines that it’ll take about a week to get to the cove, excluding extreme weather conditions. She whispers to Haseul as they’re washing up the dishes, asks her if she wants her to come up with something and stall for time, but Haseul shakes her head minutely. She doesn’t want to stretch this out for longer than it has to. It’s already painfully awkward having to co-exist on the ship when Choerry is the only one who’ll still talk to her.

Although she supposes that’s partially on her, too. She can’t say she particularly wants to talk to any of them right now. Although Yves was initially against the idea, she caves under Vivi’s convincing, clearly blinded by her feelings. Haseul feels naive when she thinks back to how she justified their actions, telling herself that they only killed people who deserved it, that they were only pirates out of need. It’s her own fault for trying to put morals on a bunch of people who clearly don’t have any.

The only time Vivi speaks to her for the entire week is to tell her, in short terms, that they would be heading to a dock of her choice after they were done at the cove and she was expected to leave. Haseul’s first instinct is to freak out, but her pride forces her to simply give a stiff nod, scrubbing the deck harder. She is the one who said she would leave the ship, after all. If she’s being totally honest with herself, it’s not the worst thing that could happen. The more she’s exposed to pirate life, the more she feels she’s just not cut out for it.

Still, she can’t help but be frightened by her future, which now stretches out in front of her like an empty chasm. Here she is again, about to be alone in the world without a penny to her name. She should probably be used to it by this point, but it only feels worse than the last time, especially now that she knows she can't go back to being a sea musician again. So what is she going to do now?

After a week of tense non-stop sailing, they arrive at the cove. Haseul watches from below the deck, dread rising in her throat when the ship pulls up to that familiar shore, the mouth of the cave gaping jaggedly in the dark like the mouth of some ancient sea creature.

Haseul is thankful for small miracles: it’s nighttime by the time they arrive and they’re all exhausted, and Vivi decides it’s too dangerous to try and attack in the dark. She makes it clear that in the morning, they are  _ all  _ expected to join her in the raid of the cave. “Haseul will lead the way, of course,” she adds smoothly. It makes Haseul irritated, especially knowing that they don’t need her to lead the way, it’s a damn cave with only one way to go. Haseul knows it’s just a power move, which is exactly why she doesn’t give Vivi the satisfaction of seeing her react, just nodding tight-lipped and retreating to her room early.

Tonight, Haseul is finally thankful for her chronic insomnia. As she listens to the rest of her crew eventually ceasing their activity and settling into sleep, she lies wide awake in her bunk, her mind slowly formulating a plan of action.

Once the ship has been completely still for at least an hour or two, Haseul slips barefoot out of her room, tiptoeing around as quietly as she can. She successfully makes it to the upper deck without waking up any of her crew, and she takes a moment to just stand with her hands on the railing, looking out at the familiar view.

Then, she begins to sing; not loud enough that the other girls will be able to hear it in their quarters below, but loud enough that her voice carries across the expanse of the ocean. She prays it falls on the right ears.

After just a few verses, her heart leaps when she sees a ripple run through the water below. She leans over the railing, continuing her song, but stops short when she sees an unfamiliar blonde head rising from the surface of the ocean.

“What the hell?” Haseul mutters, making sure to keep her voice low. “Who are you?”

“Chaewon,” the girl says, looking just as confused as Haseul feels. “Wait, who are  _ you _ ? Isn’t this Hyejoo’s boat?”

“Who the fuck is Hyejoo?” Haseul wonders aloud, then shakes her head. “Never mind. Chaewon, my name is Haseul. Do you know a mermaid around here named Jinsol?”

“Maaaybe. Oh, are you that sailor she almost killed?” Chaewon asks, perking up with interest. “I guess you do kind of look like a boy, from afar.”

“Okay, can you get her, please?” Haseul asks, deciding to ignore the 'almost killed' part. “It’s urgent, please.”

“What’s in it for me?” Chaewon asks, twirling a lock of her hair.

Haseul flails. “I don’t have anything to give you.”  _ Thanks to Jinsol _ .

“Will you finish your song? You have a beautiful voice.”

Haseul sighs, on edge and impatient but also softened slightly by the compliment. “Sure,” she says, and launches back into the sea shanty she was singing before, rushing a little bit to get through the last few bars.

“Lovely,” Chaewon says, and then disappears back under the water, a flash of teal peeking out as she waves her fin at Haseul. The summer air is uncomfortably warm, but Haseul stays out on the deck for almost half an hour longer, her eyes scanning the ocean for any signs of movement.

She’s beginning to think Chaewon was just fucking with her, but  _ finally _ she hears a familiar voice calling from the other side of the boat. “Missed me?”

Haseul runs over to the opposite railing and peers over, relief flooding her at the sight of Jinsol splashing in the waves below.

“Oh, thank God,” she sighs. “Jinsol, listen to me. My crew knows this is where you live, and they plan on storming the cage and killing anyone they find.”

Jinsol stiffens, her pupils narrowing into slits. “ _ What _ ?”

“I tried to stop them, I promise, but I have no authority over them,” Haseul explains quickly. “You need to get out of here — you, Chaewon, and any other mermaids in the area. And take all your jewels and stuff with you, too.”

Jinsol’s eyes are wide, head tilting as she processes what Haseul’s saying. After a long pause, she says, “why?”

Haseul stares back. “What do you mean, why? Because they’ll definitely strip the cave bare if you don’t.”

Jinsol shakes her head slightly, her eyes never leaving Haseul’s. “No. I mean, why are you warning me? I stole something from you, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” Haseul says, feeling a pang of pain at the mention of her treasured necklace. “I don’t want them to kill you, though." Jinsol doesn't reply, just continues to stare at her, and so Haseul awkwardly adds, "and I mean, if you feel at all inclined to repay me for saving your life, you could give it back.”

Jinsol smiles slowly, a gentle expression that’s unlike the predatory grin Haseul’s used to seeing on her. “You know, I was wrong,” she says. “You’re not like them.”

With that, she disappears back into the inky waters, her tail glimmering in the moonlight before it dives back under the waves. Haseul takes a few moments to herself, to breathe in the salty air before she heads back below deck. She feels like a weight has been lifted, one that’s been sitting on her chest all week, and with her newfound lightness sleep finally finds her.

The next morning, Haseul can tell everyone’s eyes are on her as they eat their bland breakfasts together. She knows they’re probably expecting her to refuse to go along with their plan, maybe chain herself to the mast or something equally as dramatic. Which honestly, she probably would be doing this very minute, but unbeknownst to them, her conscience is cleared.

Still, she begins to feel shaky when they all dismount the ship and start heading for the cave. Choerry’s looking around wistfully, and Haseul can tell she’s reminiscing about the last time they were all here together, splashing around in the water and having fun like a group of best friends. Now the atmosphere is tense and silent, with Haseul leading the way and Vivi right behind her. She has a hand placed threateningly on her sword, which is tucked into her waistband, but Haseul isn’t scared. She doesn’t plan on running, and even if she did, she has a feeling that Vivi wouldn’t really hurt her, despite all her big talk.

“This place is kind of creepy,” Olivia mutters when they walk into the mouth of the cave, and Haseul has to agree. It gets darker the further they walk in, and Haseul’s sure she’s imagining it, but it’s almost like the walls are getting smaller and smaller. She begins to panic, although she tries not to let it show on her face. What if Jinsol didn’t heed her warning, thinking it was lies to get back at her for stealing the necklace?

Even worse, what if Jinsol was waiting for them with the rest of her band of mermaids, ready to tear them all to shreds? Had Haseul made a fatal mistake by trusting the girl?

Her heart almost thumps out of her chest with relief when she finds that the answer is no. When she reaches that familiar room at the end of the cave, it’s completely empty. It looks even bigger without the huge pile of riches in the middle; now it’s just sand and pebbles, the shallow water lapping at their feet innocuously.

“Where are they?” Vivi demands, pushing past Haseul and looking around the cave as though the mermaids will magically spring from the walls.

“I don’t know,” Haseul says, and at least that is truthful. “This is where I saw her last time.”

Vivi whirls around to look at her, her face tight with rage. “There has to be another tunnel or — or something! You’re lying! Tell me what you know right now before I—”

Her hand flies to the hilt of her sword, and she looks so angry Haseul genuinely thinks that she’s going to end up dying anyway, mermaid attack or not. But then Yves steps forward and presses both hands onto Vivi’s shoulders, pushing her away from Haseul. For a moment it looks like they’re going to fight, but then Yves moves her hands to cup Vivi’s face instead, forcing her to look into her eyes.

“It’s over, Vi,” she says, in a softer tone than Haseul’s ever heard her use. “They’re gone, okay? We’re safe.”

Vivi’s face remains impassive for a moment, then her lip wobbles and her entire face crumples. She pulls Yves into an hug so aggressive it must hurt, burying her face in her shoulder. Yves stumbles back with the force of it, but holds her just as tight, whispering comforting nothings in her ear.

Haseul turns around to look at Olivia and Choerry, who are staring just as wide-eyed as her. She has a feeling it’s the first time any of them have seen their quartermaster cry. Lip has her eyes averted, trying to give the two some privacy, something that the two younger girls don’t consider as they gawk at the scene in front of them.

Over Vivi's shoulder,  Yves shoots them a look that clearly says  _ fuck off! _ , even as her hands stroke soothingly at Vivi’s hair. She doesn’t have to tell them twice: it’s uncomfortable for all of them to see their quartermaster so vulnerable, and they take off quickly in the direction that they came from, all of them eager to get out of the cave. Haseul especially: she feels more claustrophobic with every moment that she stays in there, and she’s never been so happy to breathe in fresh air when they emerge from the mouth of the cave.

They climb back onto the board, leaving Vivi and Yves in their own little world, and then they all look to Lip for further instruction. Haseul may be the eldest, but between them all the doctor is the one who’s been on the boat the longest.

Lip fiddles with her glasses and sighs. “Okay, that’s enough excitement for one day. Retreat to your quarters, do whatever you see fit with your time until supper.”

“Really?” Choerry asks, gaping. “No scrubbing the deck?” 

“Don’t push it,” Olivia hisses, elbowing her, and the two run off to their shared room. Haseul follows, wanting to speak to Olivia in private.

It seems like Olivia has the same idea, because as soon as they get there, Olivia asks, “hey, Choerry, will you go get the chess board? I think I left it up by the bow.”

Choerry grumbles but does as she’s asked — even though she technically has authority over Olivia, she’s never one to say no to a simple request. As soon as she’s out of earshot, Olivia looks up and fixes Haseul with an intent stare.

“You did this somehow, didn’t you?” Olivia asks, but her tone isn’t accusing. It’s grateful, almost.

Haseul nods, then remembers the conversation she’d had with the green-tailed mermaid the previous night. “Chaewon was looking for you, by the way.”

Olivia’s eyes widen, and she leans forward so fast she nearly topples off her mattress. “You spoke to her? What did she say?!”

“Nothing, she just asked where you were,” Haseul says, omitting the fact that Chaewon had revealed Olivia’s real name in the process. “Then I asked her to get Jinsol so I could warn her about the attack.”

“Well … thank you for that. I was mad at Chaewon, but I don’t think I’d have been able to live with myself if …” She exhales through her teeth. “I wanted to look for her last night, but I thought Vivi would be patrolling around. Dammit.”

“Try looking for her again tonight,” Haseul suggests. “She might be around. I’d recommend singing, they seem to like it.”

“You want me to sing to her?” Olivia repeats, her cheeks reddening slightly, then Choerry returns with the chess board and they both have the sense to be quiet.

Haseul’s not sure when Vivi and Yves get back on the boat, but they’re both there when Lip calls everyone for supper. The atmosphere grows tense when Haseul sits down across from Vivi, but then in a surprising move, Vivi hands the rice to Haseul. Haseul accepts the metaphorical olive branch, and from then on the heaviness between them dissolves into light chatter.

After dinner, Vivi surprisingly volunteers to wash the dishes side-by-side with Haseul. She washes and Haseul dries, working together in quiet tandem until Vivi speaks.

“I may have overreacted,” she says quietly, and Haseul bites back her  _ I told you so _ because she knows how difficult this must be for Vivi to admit.

“It’s alright,” Haseul says. It isn’t, really, but she’s just happy that they made it through the day and nobody got killed.

“Still, I can’t let you stay here,” Vivi continues, and there it is. What Haseul’s been waiting to hear all night. “I just can’t accept that level of disrespect from a crew member. I’m sure you understand.”

“I do,” Haseul says, even though she doesn’t. She doesn’t at all, but that’s fine. She’s wise enough to admit that a pirate’s life is just not for her. She couldn’t have continued to turn a blind eye to the ugly parts of this life forever, and she’s always known that, deep down. It’s still just hard to face; despite her rather hectic life as of late, she’s never liked change.

Still, even though it wasn’t permanent, the past few months of her life have been wonderful and she’s in no danger of forgetting that. It’s another two weeks at least before they reach the dock Haseul’s requested to be dropped off at (the one in the town where she grew up), and she’s determined to make the most of that time with her crew mates before she has to go. She plays board games with Choerry and Olivia, steps up in the kitchen so Vivi can spend more time with Yves, and even helps Lip with her studying, quizzing her even though she doesn’t understand most of the words she’s reading.

When it’s finally time for her to go, Haseul is a lot sadder than she thought she’d be, but she’ll be damned if she cries like a baby in front of this group of hardened murderers. Thankfully, there’s no time for lengthy goodbyes: the girls have to drop her off quickly at the dock so that they can continue their journey east, where they’re planning on getting involved in weapon trading.

Choerry hugs her tight, whispering in her ear that she’ll miss her tons. Lip and Olivia both give rather stiff hugs, but Haseul doesn’t miss the way that the younger’s eyes are slightly misty when she pulls away. Then of course there’s Yves and Vivi, who have become rather inseparable these days — even as they see her off at the docks, their hands are linked.

“We want you to have this,” Yves says, producing a clinking, heavy bag and handing it to Haseul. “Just something to get you back on your feet, till you can find a job.”

Haseul peeks inside the bag, stunned at the sight of the pile of gold coins within. “I couldn’t,” she exclaims, shocked — this would probably last her months even if she splurged it all — but Yves insists, pushing the bag into her hands firmly.

“Think of it as unofficial pay for the time you spent with us,” Vivi advises, patting Haseul’s hand. “And listen … we’ll probably be back here, from time to time. If you ever need anything, you know what our ship looks like.”

“Thank you. Thank you all, so much,” Haseul says. To her horror, tears start to well up in her eyes, so she gives them a watery smile and a final wave before turning her back, leaving behind the place and the people she’s called home for the last few months. With just one bag of her meager possessions and the clothes on her back, she feels more lost and alone in the world than ever before.

Thankfully, the little town hasn’t changed very much from when she used to live here. Some storefronts have closed down and been replaced by others, some new inns and pubs have popped up on the popular streets, but the streets are the same: the salty air, the people, the sounds of city life drifting through open windows. It feels like a place she could learn to call home. 

She chooses one of the newer inns to set her belongings down, deciding to pay for a month’s board in advance. The innkeeper is a cheerful young woman who reminds her far too much of Choerry, and it makes her heart hurt a little bit.

“Are you new in town?” the innkeeper chatters as she hands Haseul her key. “A tourist? I can give you the scoop on the best spots.”

“I’m actually a native,” Haseul says, accepting the key, “I just haven’t been back in a while.”

“Well, welcome back!” the woman says cheerfully, and Haseul manages to conjure up a somewhat real smile in return.

Haseul doesn’t mean to go to sleep, but as soon as she gets up to her room and sinks into the soft bed, exhaustion washes over her. She doesn’t know whether it’s the sensation of finally being in a real bed again, or just the stress of the past few weeks catching up to her, but she’s out like a light before she can even change out of her clothes.

When she wakes up, it’s well past sunset and the sky is slipping into the dark purple of the night, but Haseul feels completely refreshed and awake. The ocean air drifting through the window makes her a little homesick, though; she never thought she’d be yearning to be back on a boat in the middle of the sea, but here she is. 

To distract herself, she changes into a pretty dress and heads downstairs, where the innkeeper is still there, polishing glasses and whistling to herself. Haseul decides to take her up on her offer and asks her for advice on where she can find a good drink, and the innkeeper points her towards one of the oldest and most popular pubs in the area, one that’s been around since Haseul was just a child.

She’s never gone in there before, but she’s walked past many times, hearing the sounds of sailors singing and laughing pouring out of it. It’s no different this time: the pub is mainly filled with men, smelling of sea salt and that faint fishy smell that tends to seep out of one’s pores after a life at sea. Somehow, it’s oddly comforting to her; when she overhears snippets of their conversations, she finds herself able to understand and relate. It’s like a little piece of home away from home, and she’s glad she picked a dock town to settle back down in.

She’s nursing her third beer of the night when she catches a glimpse of long, black hair across the bar, so at first she thinks she’s just seeing things. But after she rubs her eyes and blinks, she’s still there. It’s Jinsol, looking straight at Haseul with that familiar smirk, except she’s actually clothed, in a short cotton dress, and wait, those are  _ legs _ . Long, sleek, very nice legs, and definitely not a tail.

Before Haseul can move, Jinsol starts to make her way over to her. It’s like Haseul is stuck in a trance, unable to do anything but watch as the girl walks —  _ walks!!  _ — up to Haseul’s table and sits down in the chair across from hers.

“Mind if I join?” she asks with a giggle, and her voice is exactly the same. Haseul should know; she hears it in her dreams almost every night.

“How do you have legs?” Haseul blurts out, too preoccupied to focus on anything else.

Jinsol laughs, and takes a sip of Haseul’s beer. “We can shift into a fully human form, if we want to. I usually prefer to swim, but I just had to see you.”

Haseul shakes her head, still unable to believe that Jinsol is right here, in the flesh. “How did you find me?”

“I’ve been following your boat,” Jinsol says casually. “You got kicked off because of me?”

“Not  _ just  _ because of you,” Haseul argues, but Jinsol leans back in her seat with a triumphant smile.

“I knew it!” she says gleefully, then softer, “I still can’t believe you did that, you know. You saved me — saved us. My sisters, too. I wanted to thank you.”

“It’s okay,” Haseul begins, then gasps slightly as Jinsol slides her something across the table. “My necklace!”

She hurries to put it on with clumsy hands while Jinsol watches fondly. “I think you deserve to have it back,” Jinsol says. “Besides, I’m sure you know it’s a worthless piece of crap. No offense.”

“None taken,” Haseul says with a happy sigh, clutching the gold coin between her hands. “Thank you, Jinsol. This means a lot to me.”

They share an intense look for a few moments, and it’s like the rest of the world fades out when Haseul looks into her eyes. She breaks the gaze first, looking away with a slight blush, but Jinsol doesn’t take her eyes off of her.

“You’re remarkable, you know,” Jinsol says with uncharacteristic softness. “You’re unlike any human I’ve ever met before.”

“Well, you’re unlike any mermaid I’ve ever met before,” Haseul counters, her cheeks warm. “Although you were the first one I’ve ever met, so I guess that’s not the same…”

Jinsol tosses her head back to laugh, her glossy hair falling over her shoulder, and Haseul’s eyes are trained on the long line of her neck, the bob of her throat as she laughs. The tall girl must catch her gaze, because when she looks back at Haseul, her eyes are darker, more intent.

“Where are you staying here?” she asks, brushing her fingertips across the back of Haseul’s hand.

“Uhh… an inn,” Haseul says lamely, hyper aware that this is the first time that they’ve touched in Jinsol's human skin. It's warm, and it makes heat rise to her cheeks.

Jinsol flips her palm over, slides her own into it so that their fingers are locked. “Show me.”

So Haseul does. She takes Jinsol back to the inn, back to her room, and spends the night she’s been dreaming about since the moment she met the girl, the one she wished she was having with that nameless girl what feels like eons ago. She’s delighted to find that Jinsol really is all human, like this; Haseul can feel her heartbeat thrumming through her skin, can hear her soft sighs as she comes undone underneath Haseul’s hands. They lay together until moonlight streaming through the window gives way to soft sunshine; until sleep finally catches up with Haseul, no matter how she tries to keep herself awake by counting Jinsol’s eyelashes.

When Haseul wakes up, it’s noon and the sun is high in the sky. The bed is empty, and it feels much too large for just her; she’s already missing Jinsol’s embrace, the warmth of her body beside hers. It’s also decidedly less harmonious than the previous night, since the alcohol is catching up to her and making her head hurt slightly in the too-hot sunlight.

With a groan, she flips the pillow over her head to block out the light, only to hit her head on something hard below. Puzzled, she sits up and moves the pillow, and she has to clap a hand to her mouth to stop her shriek when she sees what’s there: a solid chunk of gold nearly the size of the pillow, so heavy that she can barely hold it in one hand. If what Vivi gave her was enough for months, the money this will get her is bound to last for  _ years _ . She’ll probably never have to work another day in her young adult life again.

Her mood significantly improved, she stashes her gold under the mattress and gets dressed for breakfast, whistling cheerily as she goes. She thinks she’ll stop by the bakery she used to frequent as a young teenager, see if they still have those delicious strawberry tarts she loved so much.

“Oh, Haseul?” the innkeeper calls as she walks past. “A young woman left this here for you last night.” She holds out a folded piece of paper in her hand.

Haseul’s heartbeat quickens as she takes the paper from the woman and thanks her, all but running outside so she can read it. Basking in the warm sun and the slight midday breeze, she reads the letters scrawled across the paper like seaweed:  _ midnight swim at the beach tonight? x J _

Haseul is unable to stop the wide grin that spreads across her cheeks as she stuffs the paper in her pocket and continues her way to the bakery, enjoying the beautiful weather. She wonders what form Jinsol will be in tonight, whether she’ll be the alluring, mysterious mermaid or the just-as-alluring-and-mysterious woman. She wonders if Jinsol plans to stick around, if she can maybe look forward to seeing her more regularly than once every blue moon. 

The city is beautiful in the sunlight, and Haseul realizes just how much she missed being around people. So many people, making the city come alive in the sunlight: a mother and child at the market, lovers holding hands by the docks, friends lunching in the grass. Suddenly, she feels a lot less lonely. When she enters the bakery, she's so moved by the sight of _real _food that she ends up with more than a dozen sweet cakes and pastries, which she eats outside in the grass, basking in the sunlight.  She misses her friends already, but there are so many more parts of the seafaring life that she doesn't miss: the solitude, the constant moving, the backbreaking ship work, the stormy seas ... the list goes on and on. She'll treasure those memories, but she's happy to put it behind her. 

Except for a certain mermaid, of course. Haseul has a feeling she's going to continue being a constant in her life. She already can't wait for midnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u for reading!! this fic was a lot of fun to write n i hope it was enjoyable to read! stream never let me go by florence + the machine <3

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/bluejinsol) and [cc](http://curiouscat.me/oddeyejinsol) & as always pls drop a kudos n comment if u enjoyed!!


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